October 25, 2010

Fall Fun

﻿﻿I have definitely been enjoying the beautiful fall colors and weather here in Hungary. But I have missed out on some of my favorite yearly fall traditions and also the celebration of Halloween, a holiday I adore.Since it's one of my duties to organize a monthly event for the Trinity Church youth, I thought it would be a good excuse to enjoy some of my favorite traditions and introduce the youth to some popular fall activities in America.I deemed the event, "Trinity Youth Fall Celebration." Seven youth attended {out of the eight invited} and each was asked to wear a simple costume. We had so much fun!In the beginning, the youth enjoyed some snacks and drinks while I gave a devotion and shared some thoughts. Then we got busy! Each student had his/her own pumpkin to carve. They did a great job and everyone enjoyed it, although the girls complained a bit about removing the guts of the pumpkin. Of course we added candles to the freshly-carved jack-o-lanterns and left them on display for the rest of the party.We then did a candy toss game and the Apple On a String game {where you try to bite the hanging apple using no hands--it's harder than it sounds!}. Next, I had the pleasure of introducing the kids to Caramel Apples. We each made our own, dipping it in melted caramel, and then rolling it in either peanuts, bits of chocolate, or both. After 15 minutes of hardening in the refrigerator, everyone had a gorgeous apple to take home with them!We ended with the explanation of the "Trick-or-Treat" tradition in America. The kids got to Trick-or-Treat at several doors in the building to get an idea of the experience and to be able to stock up on some candy {like American children}. Our final event was a Mummy Race game and the two teams had to race to make a "mummy" out of toilet paper that could walk to me {the finish line}.The kids left toting gooey caramel apples, bags of candy, and jack-o-lanterns {with extra candles}. I certainly was able to enjoy my fall activities, but it was much more enjoyable sharing these new traditions with the youth. I love these kids so much!!!

The snacks included popcorn, pretzels, doughnuts, andpumpkin seeds.

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The boys were really excited about the knives.

Bogi and Fanni with their jack-o-lanterns mid-creation.

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The finished jack-o-lanterns! Everyone did a great job, and it wasthe first time for each of them to ever carve a pumpkin!

The group--some in costume, some not. We have two baseball players,a bat (me), a cowgirl, a scary clown head, and yes, evenObama himself. {this boy purchased the mask in the US}

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The red-head behind the blog: Deanne. She loves curating a delightful life in Michigan with her husband, daughter, and miniature rat terrier. Pour a cup of tea or coffee and join her for a moment or two, would you please?